Stalk-header adn ensilage-cutter.



W. WELCH.

STALK HEADER AND ENSILAGE CUTTER.

APPLICATION FILED 05c. 14.1911. RENEWED FEB. 12,1915.

4 sHEETssHE 1. 4

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH CO WASHINGTON, n c.

Patented Sept. 21, 1915.

W. WELCH.

STALK HEADER AND ENSILAGE CUTTER.

APPLICATION FILED nEc. 141mm. RENEWED FEB. 12,1915.

PatentedSept. 21, 1915.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

COLUMBIA PLANOURAPH 50.,wAsl-1maTON, n. c.

W. WELCH.

STALK HEADER AND ENSILAGE CUTTER. APPLICATION FILED DEC. 14.1911- RENEWED FEB. 12,1915.

1, 1 54,454. Patented Sept. 21, 1915.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3' cuuumm PLANQGRAIH AID-JVASHINGTON. o. c.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

RENEWED FEB. 12,1915- Patented Sept. 21, 1915.

W. WELCH.

STALK HEADER AND ENSILAGE CUTTER.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 14, 19!].

COLUMBIA rLAhuuKM- a specification.

rare.

WILLIAM WELCH, or HASKELL, TEXAS,ASSIG1\TOROF ONE-FOURTH To FIDELLIA 1).

wnncraor HAS'KELL, TEXAS. 1 v t srALK-nE'Anna AND 'ENSILAGE-C'UTTER;

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Sept. 21, 1915.

Application filed December 14, 1911, Serial No. 665,801. Renewed February 12, 1915. Serial No. 7,867.

and State of Texas, have invented new and useful Improvements in Stalk-Headersfand Ensilage-Cutters, of which the following is This invention relates to harvesting machines of that'class which-are particularly intended and adapted to cut the heads of stalks for the saving of the seeds of such plants as sugar cane, Kafir corn and the like, and it has for its object to produce a simple and eflicient machine whereby this result may be accomplished.

A further object of the invention is to construct a machine of the class described whereby the stalks will also be cutclose to the ground for thepurpose of utilizing such stalks. g

A further object of the invention is to construct a machine of the character described inwhich means are provided forreducing the stalks to short lengths which that no'limitation is necessarily made to the precise structural details therein exhibited, but that changes,'alterations and modifications within the scope of the claims may be resorted to when desired.

In the drawings, Figurel isa top plan view showinga simple and preferred form of a machine constructed in accordance with line 3-3 in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line in Fig. 1. Fig. 5 lsatransverse sectional view taken-ontheline 55 in Fig. 2-. Fig. 6 is a sectional detailview taken ontheline 6 6 in Fig. 2. Fu 7 ,is a sectional'detail view taken bathe use was rig. :.;a1 .-sa

a sectional detail view taken on the line 8-8 inFig. 7. Fig. 9 is a detail rear elevation.

Corresponding parts in the several figures are denoted by like characters of reference. The form of the invention illustrated in the drawings hereto attached shows a machine which is adapted to be mounted for operation upon an ordinary farm wagon, the box of which constitutes a receptacle for the material gathered by the machine. This machine has been shown as adapted to opcrate upon a singlerow of plants. It is to be understood, however, that the principles of construction to be hereinafter described may be applied to a larger machine operating upon two or more rows of plants and that when the prlnclples ofconstruction are deliver the material gathered thereby into a wagon drlven alongside.

Referring to-the drawings, 1 designates the bed or boX ofan ordinary farm wagon, and 2 is the rear'aXle having transporting {wheels 3, 8, one ofwhich is equipped with a sprocket wheel 4. The harvesting machine is supported upon a U-shaped frame 5- which1is Ipivotally associated with the rear axle, said frame being provided with a forwardly extendingarm 6 having a lateral offset 7 which is suitably connected by means of a crank 8 and a link rod 9 with a lever 10 .fulcrumed upon the wagon box and which may be conveniently manipulated by the driver or'operator for the purpose of tilting The lever 10 may be the brake The frame structure of the machine includes sills 11, 11 see Fig 7, near the rear ends of which a shaft 12 is supported for rotation, said shaft being provided with oppositely faced bevel pinions 13, 13 meshing with bevelpinions 14, l lupon upright shafts 15, 15. The shaft 15 is provided near its upper end with a bevel gear 16 meshing with a pinion 17 upon the rear end of the longitudinally disposed shaft. 18. Rising fromthe sills 11,11 are uprights 19, 19 supporting the plates or cap beams 20,

20, therear ends of which may be connected by a curved-cross memberQL Mounted upon. theplatesBO, EOa-re biackets'22, 22

Motion will be transmitted from the shaft 18 to the shaft 23 by means of a belt 26 guided over band wheels or pulleys upon said shafts.

The uprights or standards 19 are provided with bearings supporting the ournals of a roller 27 having radially projecting spikes 28 that extend partly through the space between the uprights 19 and 19. The roller 27 is driven by miter gearing 29 from the shaft 15, and said roller serves to transmit motion through miter gearing 30 to an upright shaft 31 which is supported for rotation in suitable bearings near the front end of the frame structure of the machine. The roller 27 also transmits motion through a transmission chain 32 to a shaft 33 carrying a guide wheel 34. An endless cutter 35 is guided over the guide wheel 34 and over idlers 36 and 36, a plurality of which are suitably supported to guide and support the said endless cutter in such a manner that the upper lead of said cutter will be supported above the normal height of stalks to be engaged by the machine while the lower lead of said cutter is supported at a suitable height above the ground to sever the stalks.

The cutter 35 is obviously supported at a 8 suitable distance in advance of the cutter 25 hereinbefore described.

The shaft 15 carries a sprocket wheel 37 which. is connected by a chain 38 with a sprocket Wheel 39 upon an upright shaft 40 which is supported in suitable bearings adjacent to the front end of the machine where it is suitably spaced from the shaft 31; the

latter shaft rising from the sill 11, while the shaft 10 rises from the sill 11. The links gathering fingers 50. The sprockets 48 adjacent to the upper ends of the gathering arms are driven through intermediate idlers 51 from the shafts 31 and 40, respectively, whereby motion in the proper direction will be imparted to the chains upon the said gathering arms.

Supported beneath the sills 11, 11 is a trough or casin 52 containing an endless carrier-53, the front and rear ends of which are supported upon shafts 54, The latter shaft carries a pinion 56 meshing with a pinion 57 upon the shaft12 from which it receives motion. A shaft 58, which is disposed longitudinally in the trough or casing 52 and which is supported in bearings adj acent to the front and rear ends of said trough carries a cutting device comprising a plurality of chopping knives 59. The shaft 58 is provided at its rear end with a bevel pinion 60 meshing with a bevel pinion 61 upon the shaft 12 from which it receives motion. Suitably supported adjacent to the rear end of the carrier 53 is a transversely disposed endless carrier 62 which receives material from the carrier 53 and discharges the same upon the lower end of an inclined carrier 63 supported within a casing 64; adjacent to the rear end of the machine and arranged to discharge over a chute 65 into one sideof the wagon box or receptacle 1. The supporting shaft 66 at the lower end of the carrier 63 is provided with a sprocket Wheel 67 connected by a chain 68 with sprocket wheels 69 and 70, the former of which is mounted upon one of the supporting shafts 71. of the carrier 62, the other sprocket wheel 70 being mounted'upon the tion in the proper direction will thus be transmitted to the carriers 62 and 63, as best seen in Fig. 9. c 7 v Suitably supported adjacent to the rear or discharge end of the carrier chain 38 is a transversely disposed carrier 72 which receives the material discharged at the rear end of the chain 38 and discharges said material on to an inclined carrier 73 which discharges over a chute 71- iuto the receptacle 1. The supporting shaft 75 at the lower end of the carrier 73 is driven by miter gearing 76 from the upright shaft 15, and motion may be transmitted from said carrier shaft 75 in any convenient manner to the carrier 72.

Supported for rotation near the front end of the frame structure of the machine is a vertical shaft 77 which may be driven by a chain transmission 78 from the upright shaft 31 and which carries a beater comprising a plurality of radiating arms 79 which serve to engage the stalks and to project the same in a rearward direction into engagement with the fingers 41 of the carrier 38. 'A blade 80 adapted to cooperate with the cutters 59 carried by the shaft '58 may be suitably supported upon one of the sills of the machine.

In the operation of this invention, the rowv of plants is engaged by the carriers 49, 50 upon the guide arms 43, the stalks being thereby moved rearwardly in an upright position until engaged by the heaters 79 and the fingers 41 of the chain 38. This partof the mechanism serves to engage the stalks and to elevate down stalks to an approximately upright position for convenient engagement with the lower lead of the endless knife or cutter 35, whereby the stalks are severed at a suitable distance above the ground. The fingers 41 of the chain 38 will engage the stalks just below the heads, the stalks being carried in a rearward direction while suspended in an upright position by means of the fingers 38 which ride upon the guide bar 42. The spikes 28 of the roller 27 will engage the stalks and pull said stalks downwardly until the heads engage and are supported upon the fingers 41 of the chain 38, thereby presenting the heads in suitable position to be severed by the action of the cutter 25. The heads are carried rearwardly by the carrier formed by the chain 38 and fingers 41, while the stalks are gradually pulled downward by the action of the spikes 28 of the roller 27 the stalks being engaged by the cutters 59 carried by the revolving shaft 58, being thus cut into short lengths which drop upon the carrier 53 in the trough 52. The stalks having thus been chopped may, if desired, be discharged at the rear end of the trough 52, or they may be discharged onto the carrier 62, passing from thence on to the carrier 68, whereby they are delivered over the chute into the wagon box. The heads are delivered by the carrier formed by the chain 38 on to the carrier 72 discharging on to the carrier 73 which discharges over the chute 74 into the wagon box. The latter may be provided with a partition to form compartments for.

the different products. It is obvious, however, that when the seeds are saved, the stalks will usually be discharged upon the ground to serve as fertilizing material, while when ensilage is to be made it is not usually desired to save the seeds. Sultable discharge means for the various carriers will be arranged according to the purpose for which the machine is employed.

As will be seen from the foregoing description, taken in connection with the drawings hereto annexed, I have provided a simple and eflicient machine whereby the seeds of corn and cane stalks may be eificiently saved, and whereby such stalks may be chopped for such use as may be desired.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, is

1. In a machine of the character described,

stalk gathering and carrying means including an endless chain supported in an approximately horizontal plane, horizontally disposed fingers extending from the links of the chain, a guide bar terminally supporting the fingers said guide bar being adjacent to and spaced from one lead of the chain, a longitudinally disposed spiked roller supported for rotation beneath the chain in position to engage the stalks and to pull the stalks downwardly until the heads rest on the fingers that are terminally supported by the guide bar, thereby alining the heads with respect to the supporting chain, a cutter to sever the heads from thestalks after being alined, and means for actuating the chain, the cutter and the spiked roll.

2. In a machine of the character described, stalk gathering and carrying means including an endless chain supported in an approximately horizontal plane, the links of said chain being provided with laterally eX- tending fingers, a guide bar terminally supporting the fingers, said guide bar being adjacent to and spaced from one lead of the chain, stalk severing means, means for pulling downwardly the stalks carried between the fingers of the chain until the heads rest upon the fingers and are thereby supported in proper alinement, means for severing the heads thus alined from the stalks and means for chopping the stalks that are being pulled downward.

3. In a machine of the character described, stalkgathering and carrying means lncluding an endless chain supported in a horizontal plane, the links of said chain being propinging on the fingers of the carrying chain,

the means operating to pull the stalks downwardly being constructed and arranged to continue operatively in engagement with the stalks after the heads have'been severed, and means for chopping the stalks while being pulled downward.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM WELCH.

Witnesses:

M. W. CANTRELL, W. D. WELoH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Qatents;

- Washington, D. G. 

